Past projects 14
Seeing Shakespeare's World: Using Graphic Novels in ESL
Funded Jan 1, 2015My students were so surprised and pleased to be able to read Romeo and Juliet, the graphic novel. They are English Language Learners with special needs with many artistic interests, so being able to read such a complex text with visuals was excellent for them. Some students were offended that I had selected a "babyish" version of the text, but after opening to the prologue and having them try and figure out what "two houses both alike in dignity" means they were soon grateful for the visual assistance.
I actually used this with two grades, both 9th and 10th grades. In 9th grade we read the text, analyzing Shakespeare's use of figurative language and after writing an end of play essay, students wrote their own love stories. In 10th grade, while reading Macbeth, we looked at the Romeo and Juliet graphic novels for inspiration, and they created their own comic strips based on key scenes in Macbeth.
For the first time, my students were really excited to read Shakespeare. When I explained to them how we were able to get copies of this graphic novel they felt so honored. Two or three students would always volunteer to help pass the "special" books out Their excitement definitely helped make my job easier as I no longer had to "sell" Shakespeare. Them being able to see what was going on, who was speaking to whom in the play allowed them to focus on the more important language and get bogged down less with the details.
Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
Help Keep Our Heads in the Books!
Funded Nov 11, 2013Thank you again for your generous donation which allowed our classroom library to expand. My students love their new books and we've got so many books that are reserved for months to come. My students have actually been asking "Do we get to read today?", which, as I'm sure you can imagine is music to an English teacher's ears.
My 9th grade ESL class meets two periods a day, 5 days a week I allow them to do independent reading 2-3 periods a week depending on what the rest of our week looks like. Usually Monday and Friday. They know as soon as they come into class to go find "their" book and take a seat, get comfy and read. I love when they are finished reading and they excitedly share with classmates what they found out about certain characters, or what they think will happen next. In a climate with such importance placed on standardized test prep, having students motivated to read is refreshing.
The books aren't just available to the ESL students, everyone in all five of my classes is able to "check out" a book as long as they return it by the end of the semester. So far it's a system that works.
Thank you again for your generous donations, without you, none of this would have been possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
Help Us Keep Our Heads in the Books!
Funded Sep 11, 2013Thank you so much for donating to my Donors Choose project. At the beginning of the year, my students only had a few books to select from in my very limited independent reading library. Now, thanks to you there are many books they would each like to read at some point this year. In fact, there is such excitement and interest that I've been forced to create "waiting lists" for several of the books.
I teach my ESL students twice a day every day, so I'm quite lucky to be able to spend two periods a week doing independent reading. When they arrive in class they know to go straight to the back of the room, find their book, sit down and start reading. The added variety of books has really made independent reading days fun. As a teacher, it's exciting for me when my students get excited about a book and are discussing that, rather than the latest celebrity gossip for example.
Once again, thank you so much for your kindness and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and one other donor.Help Me Challenge My Students with a Fun Novel!
Funded Apr 17, 2010Thank you so much for your generous donations which allowed my classrooms to have a class set of a wonderful book in Spanish. My students have started reading the book, "La Casa de los Espiritus" by Isabel Allende, and have been loving it. For many of my native Spanish speaking students, this is the first opportunity they have had to read literature in Spanish. At first they thought it was too difficult, but after that initial shock, they realize that they can in fact read really well in two languages, and feel that their level of Spanish is improving.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
AP Tests for Outstanding Students!
Funded Dec 2, 2009At the beginning of the year when I began teaching this AP class for the first time, I was so concerned whether or not my students would be able to pay for the test they were preparing for. I posted this project on a whim, not thinking anyone would ever donate. But, you all did, and my students who come from low-income homes were able to take their AP test without the added pressure of putting unneeded financial stress on their families.
The AP test is now finished, and the year is coming to an end. Many of the students in the AP class are graduating this year. Thanks to your generosity, they may be entering university with college credits received from their AP tests.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 23 other donors.A Laptop for our Spanish Class!
Funded Nov 9, 2009February 6th of this year was my 3rd anniversary of when I first started teaching. In the three years I have been teaching Spanish in a New York City public high school I have tried my best to find engaging ways to teach the fundamentals of the Spanish language. At times I am successful and students are both interested and learning, while at other times not so much. Your donation to my goal of obtaining a laptop for my classroom has already benefited my students and their learning so much. I was amazed at how engaged students were when we used our laptop. So far we have used it to watch video clips, PowerPoint presentations, and to show student work to the entire class. It was really quite incredible. They had so much fun and are always asking me when we we are going to use it next.
My students had no idea I had submitted anything to donors choose, or even of the existence of donors choose. When I explained the concept of the website to them, they were so surprised that such a site even existed. I then told them that a proposal I had submitted was fully funded and that different people, some who I know personally and others that I don't know had helped out, they were shocked. They asked me things like: "Ms. Thomas, someone really donated $50 to us?" "To our class? In this school? But our school isn't a rich school!" I explained to them that yes, people selected my proposal for my classes at our school to fund. It was really an uplifting conversation to have that day.
The support of donors like you really does make a great difference in what and how I teach. Thanks to your generosity, I am going to be able to use this laptop with my students for years to come.
Again, thank you so much,”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.Spanish Soap Operas will Help us Listen and Speak!
Funded May 15, 2009February 6th of this year was my 2nd anniversary of when I first started teaching. In the two years I have been teaching Spanish in a New York City public high school I have tried my best to find engaging ways to teach the fundamentals of the Spanish language. At times I am successful and students are both interested and learning, while at other times not so much. Your donation to my goal of obtaining the Destinos soap opera series for my classroom has already benefited my students and their learning so much. I was amazed at how engaged students are when we watch the episodes. It really is quite incredible. They had so much fun and are always asking me when we can watch again.
My students had no idea I had submitted anything to donors choose, or even of the existence of donors choose. When I explained the concept of the website to them, they were so surprised that such a site even existed. I then told them that a proposal I had submitted was fully funded and that different people, some who I know personally and others that I don't know had helped out, they were shocked. They asked me things like: "Ms. Thomas, someone really donated $50 to us?" "To our class? In this school? But our school isn't a rich school!" I explained to them that yes, people selected my proposal for my classes at our school to fund. It was really an uplifting conversation to have that day.
The support of donors like you really does make a great difference in what and how I teach. Thanks to your generosity, I am going to be able to show Destinos to my students for years to come.
Again, thank you so much,”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.Testing Our Vocabulary Knowledge, One Tile At A Time
Funded Apr 15, 2009February 6th of this year was my 2nd anniversary of when I first started teaching. In the two years I have been teaching Spanish in a New York City public high school I have tried my best to find engaging ways to teach the fundamentals of the Spanish language. At times I am successful and students are both interested and learning, while at other times not so much. Your donation to my goal of obtaining scrabble and spanish/english dictionaries for my classroom has already benefited my students and their learning so much. I was amazed at how engaged students were when we played scrabble. It was really quite incredible. They had so much fun and are always asking me when we can play again.
My students had no idea I had submitted anything to donors choose, or even of the existence of donors choose. When I explained the concept of the website to them, they were so surprised that such a site even existed. I then told them that a proposal I had submitted was fully funded and that different people, some who I know personally and others that I don't know had helped out, they were shocked. They asked me things like: "Ms. Thomas, someone really donated $50 to us?" "To our class? In this school? But our school isn't a rich school!" I explained to them that yes, people selected my proposal for my classes at our school to fund. It was really an uplifting conversation to have that day.
The support of donors like you really does make a great difference in what and how I teach. Thanks to your generosity, I am going to be able to play scrabble with my students for years to come.
Again, thank you so much,”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.Let's Give Them Something to Talk About Part 3
Funded Apr 19, 2009February 6th of this year was my 2nd anniversary of when I first started teaching. In the two years I have been teaching Spanish in a New York City public high school I have tried my best to find engaging ways to teach the fundamentals of the Spanish language. At times I am successful and students are both interested and learning, while at other times not so much. Your donation to my goal of obtaining a projection screen for my classroom has already benefited my students and their learning so much. I was amazed at how engaged students were when we used the screen to present projects. It was really quite incredible.
The screen fulfills the goal of having everyone focused and able to see what other students are presenting to the class.
My students had no idea I had submitted anything to DonorsChoose, or even of the existence of DonorsChoose. When I explained the concept of the website to them, they were so surprised that such a site even existed. I then told them that a proposal I had submitted was fully funded and that different people, some who I know personally and others that I don't know had helped out, they were shocked. They asked me things like: "Ms. Thomas, someone really donated money to us?" "To our class? In this school? But our school isn't a rich school!" I explained to them that yes, people selected my proposal for my classes at our school to fund. It was really an uplifting conversation to have that day.
The support of donors like you really does make a great difference in what and how I teach. Thanks to your generosity, I am going to be able to use this screen for so many things and for years to come. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.Let's Give Them Something To Talk About!
Funded Mar 23, 2009February 6th of this year was my 2nd anniversary of when I first started teaching. In the two years I have been teaching Spanish in a New York City public high school I have tried my best to find engaging ways to teach the fundamentals of the Spanish language. At times I am successful and students are both interested and learning, while at other times not so much. Your donation to my goal of obtaining an LCD projector for my classroom has already benefited my students and their learning so much. I was amazed at how engaged students were when we used the projector to present projects. It was really quite incredible.
The projector fulfills the goal of having everyone focused and able to see what other students are presenting to the class. My students had no idea I had submitted anything to DonorsChoose, or even of the existence of DonorsChoose. When I explained the concept of the website to them, they were so surprised that such a site even existed. I then told them that a proposal I had submitted was fully funded and that different people, some who I know personally and others that I don't know had helped out, they were shocked. They asked me things like: "Ms. Thomas, someone really donated $200 to us?" "To our class? In this school? But our school isn't a rich school!" I explained to them that yes, people selected my proposal for my classes at our school to fund. It was really an uplifting conversation to have that day. The support of donors like you really does make a great difference in what and how I teach. Thanks to your generosity, I am going to be able to use this projector for so many things and for years to come. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.